Love Song Requiem
by useyourwandbro
Summary: Draco is assigned by the Dark Lord to spy on Harry Potter and find out as much information as possible about him and his plans. In order to do that, Draco has to become closer to one of the trio members, which happens to be Hermione Granger...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary.

Chapter 1

The Hogwarts Express horn blared. All the school prefects were calling for the students to get on the train that was about to leave any minute. It was the beginning of the sixth year at school, and Hermione was saying her last goodbyes to her parents, before joining Harry and Ron.

"Well, honey, have fun at school. We'll miss you," said Mrs. Granger.

"I'll miss you too," replied Hermione in a sad voice. She hated these moments. She loved being in Hogwarts, of course, and being with Harry, Ron, Ginny and all of her friends, but she still missed her parents sometimes, and the summers she spent home always seemed to end too quickly. "I love you. Bye!" said Hermione hugging her parents one last time and running to the train, joining her two best friends.

"Bye, honey. We love you too!" replied Mr. Granger, releasing his daughter.

"Well, sixth year, huh?" said Ron as they were looking for a free seat for the three of them to settle.

"Yep," replied Harry. "Can you believe that next year's graduation?"

"Damn…" said Ron absent-mindedly. Finally, they seemed to find an empty cabin, when someone's hand grabbed the knob.

"Looking for a seat, Weasley?" said an arrogant voice. The three knew exactly whom this voice belongs.

"But off, Malfoy!" snapped Ron with an annoyed glare at Draco Malfoy, who was accompanied by his Slytherin gang of Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle.

Draco smirked. "I think not, weasel. But _you_…" and just when he was about to finish his coming insult, Hermione surprised everyone by stepping forward, pushing Harry to the side and punching Draco's nose for the second time in her life, making him lose his balance for a few seconds.

"Come on, guys" she said as she opened the cabin door and let herself in, leaving a startled Malfoy behind. Ron and Harry, however seemed to lose any ability of moving around, as they continued staring in disbelief at Hermione. Draco meanwhile seemed to regain his composure as he lunched forward towards Hermione.

"You filthy Mudblood…" But then he was cut, this time by Ron's fist in the same place where Hermione had hit him just a moment ago. After that, Ron and Harry hurried inside the cabin closing the door behind them before Malfoy could recover again.

"Wow, Hermione, that was… hot!" blurted Ron, who still seemed to in shock.

"I have no intention of suffering his stupid psychological attacks first thing in our way to Hogwarts! Next time, he might think about my fist before he approaches us again." Said Hermione in a heated tone, but there still seemed to be a trace of a smile caused by Ron's comment.

"Yeah, well… maybe at least tonight," said Harry. Hermione sighed in annoyance and muttered something about a "bloody git".

It was quite for a few minutes. Harry and Ron probably figured it would be better to let Hermione calm down a little bit first, before starting any conversation. Just then, the door opened and Ginny entered the cabin with Neville and Luna behind her.

'Hey, guys! What's up?" smiled Ginny cheerily as she sat next to Hermione.

"Great! What about you?"

"Awesome!" said Ginny. "I just saw Malfoy bleeding and cursing the whole world. What happened?"

"Hermione punched him. And then I did," declared Ron proudly and looked at Hermione who had a smug expression on her face.

"No way!" laughed Ginny and looked at Hermione in disbelief. "Well, I guess the bastard had it coming."

They continued talking and laughing all the way to Hogwarts, exchanging jokes about Malfoy, sharing stories about their summer and talking about the upcoming year.

Finally, the train pulled to a stop. "Come on, let's go" said Hermione after the girls came back with their robes on and they started going off the train.

'Oh God, how I missed this place,' she thought as they entered the Great Hall and walked to their seats at the Gryffindor table. She was happy to be back, after all, Hogwarts was like her second home. A home, which she has so many memories and experiences from, both good and bad. Like her first day at Hogwarts, hoe the Sorting Hat put her to Gryffindor, how Harry and Ron saved her from that troll and they have been best friends ever since, how she drank that Polyjuice Potion and accidentally turned to a cat, saving Sirius, her first date Kram, Dumbledore's Army and… ugh, Malfoy. He was glaring at her from the Slytherin table. At first, Hermione thought about just looking away, but instead she glared back and smirked at him his _own_ famous smirk, which he only reacted to by rolling his eyes.

"Hermione, um… are you okay?" asked Ron when he noticed her glaring somewhere.

"What? Oh… yeah, I'm fine. Why?" asked Hermione innocently.

"Well, it just looked like…" and then he and Harry spotted the object of Hermione's glaring.

"Stupid git. Just ignore him," said Harry as Malfoy turned away and was already speaking to Zabini.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary.

A/N: Okay, so here's a new chapter for anyone who's reading this story. There are also no events on this one, they will start in the next chapter, which I'm working on right now, but this one is an informative chapter. Hope you enjoy, and please review! I want to know your opinions on my writing, since it's my first fanfic ever!:))

Chapter 2

Draco Malfoy would do anything at that moment to take that bloody smirk off that mudblood's face. How dare she? Sitting there with her two guard-dogs, probably having blast thinking about how she fixed his face a few hours ago. She didn't do much damage though, but the Weasel did, punching him in the same place again.

Draco was furious, but he could do nothing about it. Not now, at least. He was assigned to a mission, which if he valued his life, he had no right to fail. Of course, he knew it was going to be hard and understood all the difficulties of that assignment, but giving it up would mean giving up his life.

Draco remembered his conversation with Lucius a few weeks ago very well. He let his mind travel back to that dreadful day…

Draco was sleeping when the squeaky voice of his house-elf, Mimi, woke him up, telling him that his father was expecting him in his office immediately. When Draco entered Lucius's office, he was sitting at his desk, but once he saw his son he stood up and begun pacing the room.

"Draco, sit down," he ordered, as Draco did what he was told. The strange thing about his father's pacing was that it didn't seem to be caused by anger or fury, the way it normally would, but by… nervousness? Lucius was never nervous, but Draco knew of the one person that could make him.

"Draco," begun Lucius, "You, as the whole wizarding world in fact, know of course of the Dark Lord's aim and plans for the near future. He has been trying to accomplish them for the past five years, always unsuccessfully though…"

"Potter." he answered simply. Of course he knew, it was no big secret. Lucius nodded and continued. "The Dark Lord had had enough, and has no intention in failing once more. However, in order to finish what he started sixteen years ago, he needs help. In fact, a very specific person's help. This time, Draco, that person is you."

Draco froze. His eyes were wide open and he suddenly felt his whole body go numb, as he proceeded what his father told him. No… it couldn't be true. He hasn't made it even inside the circle yet, and _he_ already wanted him to do things for him? Things that had to do with Potter? But… that must mean… No! No, he wasn't ready yet! Sure, he knew what was coming, but it wasn't supposed to happen until next summer! He still had time until then to adjust himself to the new life he would have. Finally, Draco seemed to regain his ability to speak. He tried to sound calm, as he spoke:

"Father, I thought my initiation ceremony was meant to happen only in a year," he said.

"I'm afraid the Dark Lord cannot wait that long. The situation requires urgency, which means you'll have to join the circle as soon as possible."

"Father, I…" he tried to argue, but Lucius ignored him.

"The initiation ceremony will take place in a week. I expect you to be ready by then."

"But – "

"I EXPECT YOU TO BE READY, DRACO!" Lucius yelled. "On the ceremony, the Dark Lord will confirm you as to what you are required to do. That is all. Now leave!"

Draco stormed out of his father's office to his room. He was furious. How could this be happening? That bastard was supposed to wait! He couldn't initiate him now, all of a sudden!

"URGGHHH!" Draco roared in anger as he was grabbing random objects and was throwing them against the walls and the floor. But why was he so furious? After all, he knew it was going to happen. This is what he was meant to become from the day he was borne. This is what he wanted…

'Is it?' a small voice in the back of his head whispered. He almost let himself ponder that question, but stopped himself.

"Of course it is!" he said loudly as he sat on the side of his bed. "What over choice do I have?" he said, more quietly this time. What was wrong with him? All these years he had felt so ready and well prepared to what was coming, so why now when he's a week away from that, he's so fucking scared? 'Because it never felt so real until now', the voice in his head spoke quietly again.

"Doesn't matter now… Dammit, Draco, get a grip for God's sake!" he snapped at himself. Great. Now he was talking to himself. Finally, he decided instead of staying locked in his room and going nuts, he'd better go and calm down his nerves by flying on his broom, something that always helped him get his mind off things. And indeed, after he came back to his room completely exhausted, and took a nice, long shower he drifted to a sleep.

A week later, right after the ceremony was over, Draco found out what is it that he had to do for the Dark Lord. Apparently, he wanted him to spy on Potter, and inquire into his plans.

"I want you to find out all you can about him: his weaknesses, his special abilities or knowledge of something particular, if he has any and most importantly, his plans which I'm sure he has. He'd be a fool not to. You understand what I need, don't you, Draco?"

Draco understood, but what he didn't understand was… how the hell was he supposed to do that? Without – being caught? Those little prats would know if he was up to something… As if reading his thoughts, which was probably what he actually did (Draco was well aware of the Dark Lord's legilimency abilities), Voldemort spoke again:

"You must be wondering how will you be ale to accomplish that assignment without causing any suspicions."

Draco only continued staring at the floor, as Voldemort continued.

"Well, Draco, think. You are a quite attractive young, pureblood wizard. I believe you don't experience any trouble getting a girl, do you?" smirked Voldemort. Draco was slightly taken aback by this question, but after a pause, realized the Dark Lord must have been waiting for a response.

"Um, no, my Lord, I don't…" he finally stammered.

"Thought so. And if you can charm so many young, pureblood witches, then I suppose one little mudblood won't be much of a challenge either, would it?" At that, Draco looked up, and regretted it after he met Voldemort's blood-red eyes. He knew what the Dark Lord was asking him to do. Of course! He couldn't become best friends with Potter all of a sudden. That not only was impossible, but also most certainly would cause suspicion. Granger on the other hand… Who said he couldn't have a crash on her, regret the past they shared and try to fix it by dating her? And while they're dating (as much as just the thought of that was a torture), he will make her fall in love with him, and trust him enough to share all the secrets Potter has, all of which he obviously shared with Hermione.

"Very well, Draco. I knew I wouldn't have to do much explaining." Said Voldemort in a satisfied voice, probably after reading his thoughts again. Yet, Draco couldn't seem to ignore that it what somewhat a rather too complicated plan for the Dark Lord to come up with, and frankly it was based too much on trusting Draco and his seduction abilities. He decided to ask carefully, "Um, my Lord, I don't mean to question your plan, but I just thought that, maybe it would be more easy and affective if I could make a Porkey and deliver Potter himself to you?"

"Well, Draco, I must say it sounds like you_ do_ question my plan," hissed Voldemort. "You are not sure whether I think over my plans carefully enough, or whether I foresee all the difficulties that might accure during them?"

"No, of course not, my Lord, I – "

"Silence!" snapped Voldemort. "I've foreseen every detail in my plan, Malfoy, including your stubbornness and lack of obedience to the Dark Lord! I believe there is no need in explaining to you what will happen as a result of your disobedience, Malfoy?" he eyed Draco who was now too horrified to even breathe wrong. "As to what you said, you should know that this plan failed two years ago, and I cannot allow myself to repeat the same mistake twice, especially not to make your life easier, Malfoy." Draco shivered. "So now, as I ran out of options so far, after so many failed attempts at getting Potter, I must play a fucking match maker, hoping you, Draco, won't screw this up." As a respond to what he said, a few Death Eaters let out small chuckles. "Now, you may leave, and I expect you will _not _disappoint me."

Draco didn't need to be told twice as he took the cue and he apperated back to the Malfoy Manor.

Finally, Draco got distracted from his thoughts by Blaise, who started talking to him about Quidditch, and Draco went along with that conversation, only not to think of the long year he had ahead of him.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary.

A/N: Sorry I kept you waiting, I was just really busy lately but I got to it as soon as I could. Unfortunately I'm not sure myself this chapter was all that worth the waiting, I mean I know it's frustrating it's already chapter 3 and there's still not much going on, but I'll let you decide that.

LOL sorry for the few spell mistakes I did, I laughed so hard when I noticed:D Thank you for those who reviewed, and yes I would like to have criticism as well, it's important for me to know what you think So please, read and REVIEW!:)))

Chapter 3

The next day, Hermione woke up in a very good mood. She loved the first days of school: she loved the smell of new parchment, opening her new books, getting a new schedule… That was just the way she was.

She walked smiling and humming to herself cheerily to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry and Ron were already there, and Harry saved her a seat next to him.

"Good morning!" she smiled as she sat down.

"Good morning, Hermione," said Harry.

"What are you so happy about?" asked Ron glumly, while chewing on his bread.

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Hermione as she glared at Ron who, again, didn't bother to swallow before he spoke.

"Gee, I don't know! I mean, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, we have double Potions with the Slytherins right after breakfast… Just a bloody perfect day!" he said sarcastically.

"Ohh, double Potions?" Hermione groaned. It's not as if she wasn't good at Potions, or didn't like the subject, it was rather the company they had to share during those lessons that she wasn't too happy about. A bunch of Slytherins, at the head of which were Snape and Malfoy. 'Well,' she thought, "maybe it won't be so bad.'

It was.

It was bad enough when Snape told them they had to brew a new potion, one that was much more complicated then those they were used to. It got worse when Snape decided to do the pairing and it was absolutely horrible when she was paired with Malfoy.

She picked up her books with a sigh, thinking about how she was going to start the year with a probable zero and went to sit next to Draco, tripping on her way there over Pansy's foot. Hermione blushed deeply and finally, sat down trying her best to ignore the Slytherin's laughter.

The potion indeed was quiet complicated and required her full concentration. She started boiling the water and taking out the ingredients, only expecting the ferret to start making her miserable, so she was surprised that no prank or insult has come from him during those two hours. In fact, Draco only seemed to ignore her through the whole class, cutting and squashing the ingredients for the potion silently, which was completely fine with Hermione. At the end of the class, she bottled up their potion, handed it to Professor Snape and went out of the dungeons with Harry and Ron who were waiting for her outside the classroom entrance.

"Well, how did it go? Did Malfoy do something to you?" asked Ron worriedly.

"No, he was actually just ignoring me through the whole class."

"Oh, okay," said Ron.

They were on their way to Transfiguration when Hermione suddenly remembered she forgot her books in the Potion classroom, while she was so eager to get out.

"You guys go ahead, I'll be right back," she said, turning her back to leave.

"Do you want us to come with you?" asked Harry.

"No, I'll be fine," she replied and ran through the hall to the dungeons, when suddenly she felt herself bump into somebody, causing her to fall and drop her books.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't…" she started apologizing, picking up her books and then she looked up and saw who bumped into her.

"Malfoy," she scowled.

"What the hell, Granger?" he snapped at her.

"I didn't see you!" she growled, picking up her books.

"Then borrow Potty's glasses," he smirked, still irritated. He knew this was his chance, they were alone. He hesitated for a few more seconds, then finally sighed and bent down to help her with her books.

"What are you doing?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Granger?" he snarled at her, straightening up and holding out her books. "Here."

"Um… Thanks," she stammered, taking her books and looking at him as if he gone mad.

He nodded and quickly walked away, leaving her standing there, shocked, near the dungeons.

'What the hell...?' she thought as she watched him walking away. Sure, it wouldn't be a big deal if it was just anyone else, but it wasn't just anyone. It was bloody Malfoy. She noticed that he wasn't being himself today; first the silent treatment at Potions, now this… She was walking slowly down to the dungeons while pondering this, when it finally hit her that she was being late for class.

Just as she expected, she was late for Transfiguration. She apologized to McGonagall who took five points off Gryffindor for this and went to sit quickly by Harry.

"What happened? You've been gone for like fifteen minutes," asked Harry worriedly.

"I have?" Harry nodded. "Oh." She was surprised.

"Hermione, is everything alright? Did something happen on your way to class?" Harry asked again, looking at her with concern.

"No, I'm fine," she said. "Everything's fine, Harry, really," she smiled at him.

She didn't know why she hasn't told Harry about the incident with Malfoy, but then decided that it was actually nothing important to wonder about. Malfoy was probably just having a bad day so he wasn't acting like himself, that's all. With that thought in mind, she concentrated on the class, leaving all thoughts of Malfoy behind.

At the end of that day, Hermione was sitting in the Great Hall having dinner, chatting happily with her best friends. Ron was telling about an incident that happened during the summer with Fred and George, and they were all laughing and having a good time. Hermione glanced at the Slytherin table, and saw Draco looking at her. As soon as he realized she was looking at him too, Draco looked away. 'This is going nowhere,' he sighed. He knew he had to do what he was requested; there was no question about that. The question was 'how?'. How do you suddenly, after six years of nothing but pure hatred to the mudblood, change your attitude towards her and make her fall in love with you? How, after so many years of being her, and her best friends' mortal enemy, you make her trust you? Trust you _that much_ to reveal her best friend's darkest, most important secrets to you? Of course, no one bothered to tell him _that_.

Sure Draco never had any trouble'getting a girl', like the Dark Lord said, but this was different. This was not about getting a hot Slytherin to bed with him, this was about getting the fucking mudblood fall for him head over heals only to trust him as she trusts Potter and Weasley. Was he _nuts_? How on earth was he going to do that?

"Shit…," he muttered. And then, there was also Weasley who obviously liked her and was flirting with her non-stop. Well at least Granger wasn't exactly paying him much attention; Draco hoped that meant she simply wasn't interested in the Weasel. It had better be true; it was hard enough for him without the redheaded idiot getting in the way.

Annoyed, Draco stood up, and headed for his common room. Luckily, everyone was having dinner, so he was alone. He sat down on the couch and stared at the fireplace. He had some thinking to do. Just then, much to Draco's annoyance the portrait hole opened, and Blaise entered the common room.

"Hey, man, what's up?" he said, hopping onto the couch beside him.

"Fine," he grumbled. So much for some 'alone time'. "Why aren't you at dinner?"

"Not hungry. What about you?"

"Same here," he said. He watched Blaise getting all comfy on the couch and yawning lazily. He suddenly envied him so much. Blaise had no trouble to deal with, he had no dark mark on his left arm, no Lord to please, no missions to do… no nothing. He was one happy sixteen-year-old prat, with no other concerns aside of girls and grades to worry about. It was so un-fair. Then Blaise opened his eyes, only to see Draco staring at him with a sour expression on his face.

"Uh... you okay, man?" he asked warily. Draco must have realized the look on his face and said "Yeah, sure." He wasn't sure whether he should tell Zabini about what he had to do, or just keep it for himself to handle. He just felt the urge to share this with someone, _anybody_, to have some of this weight off his back, so why not his best friend? He almost gave in to the temptation, but then stopped himself, thinking about all the other things he'd have to reveal along with the stupid mission. He couldn't let anyone know he was a Death Eater, not even his best friend. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he just had to deal with the fact that he was alone now, that nobody could help him, that he couldn't _ allow _anybody to help him, and frankly there was really no way for anyone to do that.

'Tomorrow,' he thought. 'Tomorrow…' He went to his room and prepared himself to sleep. He needed to rest well before he would put his plan to action the next day. Until then, he tried to clear his mind of everything that has been bothering him for quite awhile now, as he drifted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary.

A/N: At last, chapter 4 is finally up! Sorry I made you wait, in my defense I can say this chapter is longer then all the others. Sure hope you guys will agree this chapter was worth the waiting. Anyway, Enjoy!=]

Chapter 4

Obviously, this was going to be difficult.

In order to make his plan work perfectly, he needed to use the very best of all the Slytherin traits he had in him, something that, he thought, he hadn't done for quite awhile now. As he was contemplating over his plan, he actually felt as if he was coming back to his old self – his old, arrogant, selfish and cunning self he had missed so much, because what with all the Initiation Ceremony and the Dark Lord's mission shit going on recently, he had been feeling anything but that. So yeah, it felt good to be back.

Draco realized quite quickly, that in this desperate case of Granger, simple flirting and ogling wouldn't do. Sure Granger was anything but thickheaded like her two beloved fellows, but still, he didn't want to risk taking the chance of her getting too suspicious of his sudden courtship (which, she certainly would), and so he needed something more complex. Besides, he was also aiming at something that was more complex and important – her love, and most importantly, her trust.

Potty and Weasel proved her they're trustworthy countless times over the years of their friendship, through all the adventures and dangers they've been through. They risked there lives for her, the way she did for them, and they saved her so many times. And that's what Draco had to do too. He didn't have six years ahead of him to prove it to her, and he sure wasn't starting with a clean reputation, but there was nothing impossible for a Malfoy to do, was there?

He figured that he should get a bit closer to her first, make her believe he wasn't that terrible of a person like she probably thought he was (couldn't blame her there, though). Not be _totally nice_ to her either, but act civil at the most, for now. After that, he could progress farther. So when he saw her walking to the library that day, he decided to act. He had some homework to do anyway, and he certainly wouldn't be able to do much work in his common room, with Pansy and all his dumb headed friends. So he followed her inside and waited until she was seated with all her books at the far corner of the library. He made his way through the bookshelves, and sat at the table next to Hermione's. She glanced at him as he was taking out his Arithmancy homework, eyeing him suspiciously. For a moment, she considered packing up her belongings and moving to another table, but then decided she would not leave her usual spot just because of that ferret. If he would make any nasty comments to her or interrupt her studies, there was plenty she could do to him that would shut him up.

Strangely enough, just like in Potions, he completely ignored her. Well, aside of the few glances she noticed him stealing in her direction now and then. But other than that, nothing. Although he was doing absolutely nothing that could cause her annoyance, Hermione found herself feeling just that. Annoyance at the prick. For God's sake, he was doing _abso-freaking-lutely nothing_ – only sitting there by her side, doing his stupid homework, acting quite oblivious to her presence (although that was clearly a load of rubbish), and yet she just couldn't focus on her Potions essay. She kept stealing glances herself in his direction, sighing and tossing her parchments in irritation every time she noticed her attention wasn't on Potions, but on the silly prat sitting next to her. She just felt confused. What was up with him? Not once had he approached her or her friends since the incident in the train. Of course, it had only been two days since school started, but it was just so unlike Malfoy to miss any opportunityof insulting her and her friends, and he had quite some opportunities to do that during these two days. She couldn't help thinking what was it that made him act so differently all of a sudden. 'Maybe I should punch him more often,' she thought and snickered at that.

"Do you mind?" Draco snapped.

"What?" she asked startled.

"You've been making all these annoying noises for the past hour! Would you mind stopping it? I'm trying to do my homework," he said as he glared at her.

"Well, excuse me Malfoy, if I'm disturbing you, but you don't have to sit here. There're plenty of other tables in the library for your pick."

"Good. Then why won't you go and make yourself comfortable at one of them?" he smirked.

"You're the one who came here when I was already here. So maybe _you_ should move your ass away from here, if you're so unhappy with my company," she snarled. How can he be such an ass?

"Granger, you of all people should know that I never find your company pleasant." He sighed and then shifted his gaze back to his parchment. "You know what? Just shut up and let me do my homework at peace, will you?"

"Fine!" she snapped, also focusing all her attention on the essay in front of her. Well, trying at least. 'Stupid git, annoying the hell out of me, sitting here like he's the bloody king of the…'

"Sorry."

Hermione froze. "What?" she asked, certain that she misheard him.

He sighed. "Don't make me repeat it Granger, you heard me."

She just stared at him, as if he gone insane. Which was probably the case, since there is _no way, _that Malfoy would ever…

He saw the way she looked at him with a bewildered expression on her face, definitely shocked. He smirked to himself, thinking that she looked quite amusing with that look on her face. Oh man, such painful, necessary words… He sighed again and forced himself to look her in the eyes.

"I just had a really bad day with these two goofs, Crabbe and Goyle, so naturally I'm in a really crappy mood. And, well… your parchment tossing and sighing and everything really was kind of annoying," he smiled at her apologetically.

Hermione was speechless. She couldn't believe that was actually happening. Why, Crabbe and Goyle must've dropped something really heavy on his head or something if _that_ was coming out of his mouth. Too shocked to speak, she just nodded her head at him, still with that silly expression on her face.

He nodded at her once too, smiled and gone back to his work. Ha! That totally guarantied her mind to be occupied with thoughts of _him_ for the rest of the day, he thought smugly.

And he was right.

Hermione found it hard to concentrate on her classes for the rest of that day. Or, on anything in particular for that matter. She kept thinking about Malfoy's strange attitude towards her. Could it be _just _towards her? Or maybe he was acting that strangely with everyone…Like, going through some sudden changes or something…

Seeing him bullying a first-year old with his precious gang later that day clearly proved her wrong, though.

Then what in the name of Merlin was going on? Could it be a part of some evil prank he decided to pull on her? It didn't look like it... But then again, she didn't know, and neither had she _wanted_ to know what a dark, twisted and spooky place Malfoy's mind was, though she had her suspicions on this one.

Anyway, one thing was clear. Something was going on. Draco Malfoy couldn't just wake up one beautiful morning and decide that from now on, he'll be nice… to Granger, of all people. So basically, it was for him to know, and her to find out, just what exactly was going on.

Draco Malfoy felt very proud of himself. Maybe it was nothing big, but it was definitely a progress, especially in this case. He knew that he managed to get her attention, knew that he got her thinking of him for the rest of the day, knew that now, she had her eyes on him and she'll probably be curious to see how he was going to act around her and well, he was never one to disappoint with a poor show. He also knew that now the game had officially begun, and there was no turning back, especially not after the humiliation he had to suffer back in the library. Apologizing to the mudblood, indeed! Ugh… What sacrifices he had to bring in order to get the damn mission done – his pride, his time, his reputation! Old Voldy had better be satisfied.

The thought of Voldemort made him think of just how much work he had to do. How much more he had to do besides just muttering a simple 'sorry' to the mudblood, what an act he had to pull to get to the actual point when he could be proud of himself, and make his father be proud of him as well…

"Draco!" he heard a voice shriek his name as he was heading for his Study of Ancient Runes class. 'What the…' he turned around to see Pansy running towards him, with a goofy grin on her face. Great. When she finally reached him, she threw her hands around his neck and hopped onto him hugging his waist with her legs. He almost lost his balance and fell over, dragging her with him, but he managed to stay on his legs.

"Pansy! What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled at her, trying to shake her off.

"I missed you so much, Drakey!" she squeaked excitedly not loosening her grip on him, even when she was finally on her feet. People were seriously starting to stop and stare at them.

'Merlin help me,' he thought, irritated. Just then, he noticed a familiar bushiness walking down the hallway towards the Ancient Runes class. She looked up at him and saw Pansy hanging on Draco's neck. She raised her brow at the sight and smirked.

'Damn it,' he thought. 'I can't hit on Granger and expect her to go with it, while having a girlfriend!' Oh well, this is for the sake of the mission. Besides, he's been actually thinking about it for quite awhile anyway, so… oh, what the hell.

"Pansy – "

"Yes, Poopsie?" she purred sweetly. Oh, brother… Draco heard a few chuckles coming from the students that were watching the scene. He shot them a glare.

"Look, Pansy!" he snapped, grabbing her shoulders. "We need to break up."

There.

Suddenly, the hallway fell silent. The smile immediately vanished from her face, and for a moment, she just froze and looked at him with wide eyes. Then, she burst out laughing. Draco stood there, with half of the school watching the now quite awkward scene.

"Oh, Draco," she laughed. "You sure gave me quite a scare there! Break up…"

She was still laughing, and Draco was only becoming more irritated. Oh, so she thinks he's joking? All right then.

"You think it's a joke?" he asked coldly. She stopped laughing and looked up at him, the smile on her lips slowly fading, as she took in his tone.

"Draco… you, - you can't be serious." Draco only continued glaring at her. "Draco? Tell me you're joking, Draco! No, you – "

He smirked at her as she finally begun taking him seriously, and was starting to actually panic. "Sorry, Pans. But no, I'm not joking." he said, not sounding sorry at all. Tears begun to swell in her eyes, as she stood there helpless, trying to take it all in. The students standing in the hallway remained silent and only continued gawking.

"But, but… Draco, baby…" she sobbed. "You don't mean that… do you? I mean… Why?"

She looked so miserable, standing there in the hallway full of students, watching her boyfriend of three years breaking up with her. For an instant, Draco felt some sort of pity towards her; after all, he knew how much she adored him, ever since the first day of school, and how painful this should be for her. However, this was not the time to be soft, especially with not half of the school watching. Besides, he never loved her, never even actually _liked_ her for that matter. She was an easy target, never required much work or… anything really. Just a slut that was willing to give herself to him whenever he felt like it, or more like whenever he felt like having _her_, and not one of her girlfriends.

"I don't know, Pans… It's just that, you've become so incredibly unattractive during these last few minutes, that I don't want to invest any more of my precious time trying to have sex with you." he shrugged casually. There was a wave of murmurs, gasps and whistles through the crowd. Clearly, everybody was shocked. Well, not as shocked as Pansy, that is. She looked at him with her jaw hanging and her eyes wide open. She looked around herself at all the stunned faces, feeling completely lost. Finally, she turned around on her heels and ran away, sobbing hysterically, quickly followed by a few of her girlfriends.

Draco watched her leaving, smirked, also turned, and walked to class. Just like that.

He was the first one to enter class, so he picked a seat at the front. As the rest of the students begun entering the classroom, he was aware of all the curious glances he received, and all the whispers that went through the girls that were now watching him with even more interest then before. Of course, it was no secret that Draco wasn't exactly a loyal and caring boyfriend to Pansy, so to say, but he still left everyone wondering what was it that actually made him break up with her.

The chair beside him was pulled, and Draco was pleased by who sat beside him. Not pleased because he enjoyed her company or something, but pleased because he might have just provoked her curiosity of him enough to willingly sit beside him at class, and that sure meant something.

"Granger," he drawled. "What have I done to deserve this kind of honor?"

"Nothing. This is my usual sit."

Oh.

"Right," he stammered. The students were still taking their seats, and they sat quiet for a few minutes, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

"That was harsh," she suddenly said.

"What was?"

"What you did to Pansy."

He sneered at that. "Please."

"You think that was a proper way to break up with a girlfriend you had for three years?" she challenged.

"Probably not. But since we're talking about Pansy, then sure, why not?" he shrugged.

She glared at him, and rolled her eyes.

"Since when do you care how I treat Parkinson, anyway?" he asked.

"I don't," she said. "But I still think that it was rather harsh on her, to humiliate her like that in front of the whole school."

He snorted. "Trust me, Granger, I didn't humiliate her anymore then she did it herself."

"How so?"

"There's a reason they call her the Slytherin Slut."

"Well, you weren't exactly loyal yourself," she smirked. He rolled his eyes.

They were quit for a few more seconds, until Malfoy asked "What? Not gonna ask me why I broke up with her?"

"No." she simply answered. "I don't care, and it's none of my business anyway."

He looked at her for a few moments, and then "Whatever you say, Hermione."

Now it was her turn to look at him curiously. Hermione? He never called her that. It was always 'Granger' at the best or 'Mudblood'. And even though she would never admit it, she _was_ somewhat curious to why Malfoy broke up with Pansy. She could hardly believe it was because Pansy cheated, after all, this couple was always anything but loyal to each other. So what could it be?

At last, the teacher entered the classroom and greeted the students. Hermione decided to leave this thinking of Malfoy to his pathetic fan girls, and focus on the important things, such as the assignment they were given by the Professor. Maybe, just maybe, she would think of that later.

A/N: BTW, Draco's break up line is not of my own invention (unfortunately, I didn't find myself artistic enough at that moment to come up with a good stinging break-up line just for Pansy, so I asked for some help from the internet XD).

Well, hope you liked it, and please please please REVIEW! I REALLY wanna know what you guys think of my work, it will help me so much with the other chapters!

I'll do my best to update soon, until then.. toodles!:))


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